Shock-absorber.



6. E. CUTLE R & B. LrMONESMlTH.

SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12. 1915.

Patented Dec; 28, 1915.

Snoantozs IGECOTLERJ B.L.MONE5MITH.

'UNitT' @TAS PATENT @FFIEGE GEORGE E. CUTLER, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, AND BERT L. MONESMITH, F CRESCO, IOWA.

SHOCK-ABSORBER.

essrs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

Application filed August 12, 1915 Serial No. 45,215.

and Cresco, respectively, in the counties of VVestchester and Howard, respectively, and States of New York and Iowa, respectively,

have invented certain new and useful Im-.

provements in Shock-Absorbers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

It is well known to those familiar with the shipment of perishable goods, such as eggs, that are so liable to become broken in transit, that a very serious factor is encountered, owing to the fact that the freight carsras heretofore and now constructed, are not so built that the shocks incidental to the sudden stop or jar of the train, can be fully absorbed and compensated for, and

ment is.

This invention is a continuation of the invention forming the subject-matter of the application of the same applicants, filed October 14, 1914, Serial No. 866,654, and

which application was allowed April 5, 1915,

on shock absorbing devices, and the present invention 1s anamplification of the inventive idea expressed in theapplication above referred to, wherebythere will be a continuation of that application, and carrying out, so to speak, of the broad and generic idea therein expressed.

In the apparatus above referred to, a

longitudinally movable floor was provided as the load sustaining element, and springs or shock absorbing devices were embodied in the car at the end of the longitudinally movable floor or load sustaining device, whereby all shocks incidental to the move- 5 ment of the train in which the car was em.-

bodied, would be compensated for and absorbed, and the present invention has for its primary object an amplification of that inventive idea wherein, in the present device, the floor or longitudinally movable load supporting element is held compressed between shock absorbers at the ends of the car,

so that the entire loading floor or sustaining element on whlch it is imposed will act in unity against the shock absorbing elements at the ends of the car to entirely absorb the shocks such as are incidental to the ordinary transit or shipment of goods, and all liability of breakage being thereby precluded.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this kind in which the yieldable and spring sustained elements will be co-extensive not only with the longitudinal dimensions of the load, but with the vertical dimensions thereof, so that when any shock is encountered, it will be entirely absorbed and the entire apparatus act as a unit to compensate for any jars incidental to the shipment of eggs, or other commodities of a kind that can be very easily broken. And the invention also aims to generally improve devices of this character, so as to render them more useful and commercially desirable.

WVith these and other objects in view, as

will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of the parts that I shall' hereinafter more fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be to the following description and accompanying drawing, inv

which,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a freight or express car embodying the improvements of our invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a part of the supporting means for the load sustaining element.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and accompanying drawing by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the freight or express car which of itself may be of any desired construction and design, and 2 designates the longitudinally movable floor or load sustaining element such as has been more specifically described in our application for patent, Serial No. 866,654, filed October 14, 1914, and allowed April 5, 1915. So far as this element is in itself concerned, it may be of any desired construction and design as, forexample, as disclosed in the application above referred to, but in the present application and invention herein disclosed, it coacts with a peculiar and novel function, with the end shock absorbers, such as are indicated as a whole at 3, in the accompanying draw- It is to be particularly noted that in the apparatus herein disclosed and now being described, the end shock absorbers 3 extend down to the floor of the car and overlap the end of the longitudinally movable fioor 2 or load sustaining element, whereby when any shock is imposed upon the car bearing the load of eggs or the like, the load as a unit together with the fioor or load sustain ing element 2 willcooperate with the end shock absorbers 3 and the entire apparatus Will act in unity or as a unit to entirely compensate for and absorb the shock imposed.

The end absorbers 3 may be of any desired construction or design, and are preferably composed of slats with cushion springs behind them, but in any event they extend down to the floor of the car below the longitudinally movable load sustaining element, and they may extend up to the top of the car if required or below the top of the car, but preferably they are co-extensive, vertically considered, with the load with which the car is designed to be ladened.

In the present embodiment of the invention, although it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, the rollers which are interposed between the main or relatively stationary floor of the car and the relatively movable floor or load sustaining element 2 are, as designated at 4, formed at their ends with gudgeons or trunnions 5, which move in slots 6 formed in bearing plates 7 that are secured to the sills 8 of the load sustaining element, but it is to be especially understood that this is a detail of construction to which the invention is not to be confined and that the main and generic idea of the invention, as herein disclosed, is the relatively movable or mobile floor co-acting with the end shock absorbing devices, whereby the floor itself and the load which it sustains will act in unity to reduce to a minimum, or to absolutely nothing, any shock to which the car may be subjected, having our invention embodied therein. v

While the accompanying drawing illustrates what we believe to be the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but that various changes may be made in the construction, arrangements and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It is also to be understood that preferably the upper springS for the end shock absorbers are provided with some means, such as the bolts shown, whereby they may be. placed under initial tension. Consequently, it being understood that the load sustaining element or floor 2 is held between the two end shock absorbers in a compressed manner, whereby the springs at the bottom will always follow up any movement of the floor 2, the upper springs of the end shock absorbers can be initially compressed, while the load is being inserted in the car, and can then be subsequently loosened or relieved, as required, whereby the load will be sustained in the required yieldable condition.

lVhile the primary objects of our invention are to provide means hereinbefore described for absorbing all of the shocks, yet it is to be noted that the invention also results in possessing great advantages of refrigeration and ventilation whereby a car equipped with these improvements will be particularly applicable for usein shipping perishable freight.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to making the load supporting element or floor either in one piece or in any desired number of sections, such for example, as referred to and disclosed in our application which was allowed April 5,1915, on shock absorbing devices, referred to in the third paragraph of the specification.

lVhat is claimed, is:

1. In combination with a carrier, a load sustaining element coacting with the carrier and movable in the same general direction as the direction of travel of the carrier, and vertically disposed end shock absorbers overlapping the adjacent ends of the movable loads sustaining element and maintaining the same under compression, said end shock absorbers being adapted to have contact with the load imposed upon the load sustaining element.

2. In combination with a carrier, a load sustaining element coacting with the carrier and movable in the same general direction as the direction of travel of the carrier, and

ver ically disposed end shock absorbers overlapping the adjacent ends of the movable load sustaining element and maintaining the same under compression, said end shock absorbers being adapted to have contact with the load imposed upon the load sustaining element, said end shock absorbers including means operable for maintaining the load sustaining element against movement.

3. In apparatus of the character described, a longitudinally movable load sustaining element adapted to be co-extensive with the length of the load, and vertically disposed shock absorbers coacting with the load sustaining element and of a height approximately co-extensive with the height of the load imposed upon the load sustaining element, the lower ends of the shock absorbers overlapping the adjacent ends of the a load sustaining element whereby any impact sustained by the load sustaining element and the load will be directly imparted to the vertically disposed shock absorbing elements.

4. In apparatus of the character described, a longitudinally movable load sustaining element, a vertically disposed shock absorber overlapping and constantly engaging the former so that any movement or shock imposed upon the load sustaining element will be directly transmitted thereby and by the load imposed thereon to the vertically disposed shock absorber.

5. In apparatus of the character described, a longitudinally movable load sustaining element, end shock absorbers between which the load sustaining element is held under compression, said shock absorbers overlying and constantly engaging the adjacent ends of the load sustaining element whereby any shock or movement imposed upon the load sustaining element will be transmitted therethrough to the vertically disposed end shock absorbing elements.

In testimony whereof We hereunto affix our signatures in the presence of two wit nesses.

GEORGE E. CUTLER. BERT L. MONESMITH. Witnesses for G. E. Cutler:

JAMES DEMIsoN, E. J. IRWIN. WVitnesses to Bert L. Monesmith:

A. C. THoMsoN, C. P. MCNALLY. 

